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The Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, has called for stringent sanctions against electoral offences perpetrators to safeguard the sanctity of the nation’s electoral process.
Mr Omo-Agege made the call in a keynote address titled, ‘Nigeria’s Democratic Experience Since 1999: The Imperative of Reforming The Electoral Process’ which he delivered at the 16th convocation ceremony of Benson Idahosa University in Benin City.
The senator said: “regardless of the source, electoral offences perpetrated by officials of the Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) and officials of political parties, candidates and voters have to be tackled have to be tackled frontally to safeguard the sanctity of the electoral process of the nation.”
Mr Omo-Agege also observed that another obvious challenge, is what has been described as the judicialisation of Nigeria’s electoral process.
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He said: “It is a big source of erosion of citizens’ confidence in the electoral process that the courts rather than members of the political parties or the electorate as the case may be, determine winners of party primaries and elections even when the evidence runs to the contrary.
“Examples of judicial decisions that assault the heart of democratic politics are legion.
“The point here is not to question the role of the courts since electoral justice and the adjudicatory process are recognized as parts and parcel of the electoral process.
“However, the widespread perception that the judiciary lacks independence from the executive and that people pay for judicial outcomes that advance their personal and group Interest raises a question mark about the legitimacy of some elected public officials.
“The country, therefore, needs to urgently address the members of the political class to observe the letters and the spirit of the rules of the game and for the judiciary to be aware that its perception as the temple of justice and the defence of the common man will contribute to the durability of the country’s democratic process.”
